Son of the Storm

Drawn in

Harry found that he actually rather enjoyed being outfitted for his Asgardian clothing. For one thing, Asgardians were a practical people, by and large, and didn't see any reason why you should choose between clothing that looked good and clothing that you could slaughter an invading army in.

They also didn't try to put him in armour, and try and portray him as a young warrior lad in the making, because he would, quite simply, look ridiculous and probably, quite uncomfortable. And, to be frank, even Thor usually didn't wear armour to occasions like this these days unless he was trying to make a point.

It consisted of a reasonably loose warm golden-yellow silk long sleeved shirt, a burgundy red, gold edged cloak that was held up with a simple yet intricate feather brooch, made of gold. It also, to Harry's relief, reached to his ankles and was designed specifically not to get tangled in his legs.

The ensemble was rounded off with a simple brown leather belt with a gold buckle and small dagger in a sheath at his right hip set with a holster for his wand on the left, burgundy red breeches, matching the cloak, practical warm brown shoes, and, finally and most crucially, a simple, yet intricately designed golden circlet, with an elliptical triskelion incised in ruby set in the centre.

This circlet, the triskelion to denote his status as one of the House of Odin and golden to denote his status as being in direct line to the throne, was designed specifically to make sure that everybody knew who and what they were dealing with - a Prince of the Blood.

While this in and of itself made Harry feel a little awkward, he was rather cheered up by the fact that the cloak would manifest a hood, if he willed it, appealing to his fondness for privacy.

This had been added at the suggestion of his uncle, who well understood what it was like to sometimes want to hide.

"Just don't do it in the middle of the banquet," Loki had said, tone lightly amused. "And I won't get in trouble with your grandfather for it."

That just left the banquet itself.

The banquet hall of Asgard was in one of the newer, metallic parts of the palace, a long, rectangular hall, with two long golden tables, inscribed with swirling symbols, set apart to allow people to circulate comfortably, pointing towards the top table, which lay across the room on a set of dais. Above that hung three huge crimson banners, edged and embroidered with gold.

If needs be, it could seat thousands, and comfortably at that.

The sides of the room were relatively open, with a series of arches along the side, the left hand ones leading to a stone balcony from which one could look out over the sea and the Bifrost and enjoy the night sky.

To enter it, you could come in from the side, but on nights when it was being used, that was mainly reserved for servants or those seeking a quiet exit. Entrances, however, were at the top of the steps that descended into the room.

And that was the part that, right here, right now, with thousands of people looking up at him, bothered Harry.

Then he felt a gentle squeeze on his shoulder, and looked up at his uncle, or technically, his aunt. Tradition dictated that entering a banquet hall be done in pairs where possible, and also be man and woman. Loki had neatly circumvented this by transforming into a female version of himself, and since this was, apparently, far from the first time he'd done this, it garnered about as much comment as a choice of outfit. With Loki, the strange was expected.

Indeed, Thor had merely raised an eyebrow, then smiled and said, "You look stunning, brother." He managed to make it sound both dry and sincere.

"Thank you, Thor," Loki had said cheerfully.